First, why do people with superpowers not given the time to explain what they want in return for the services they do to humankind?

I am not pointing towards the iconic Superman or other superheroes of the comic world.

To me, just like heroes have special powers, the anti-heroes do possess similar sort of abilities. Why do heroes always win at the end of each raging battle, which encapsulates every individual who has come to watch at the cinema halls?

It is the heart of a hero that makes him more significant than the biggest of all anti-heroes.
Every individual does possess this extraordinary power in him. Circumstances will make him either choose the best of him/her or the worst.

Although this power is not the replica of the one shown in comics, the overall idea is very similar.
Take comics; we have Spiderman, who carries the burden of people’s expectations on the one hand and the other hand, Peter Parker’s identity, which he needs to retain.

For instance, human emotions can be easily recognized with Spiderman than say, for example, Superman. Spiderman was created on earth, whereas Superman arrived from Krypton.
Hence, the lone side of Peter Parker is very pragmatic compared to Clark Kent. Also, Peter is more family-oriented and very curious about other aspects of life.

His love life, however, is exciting and realistic. He loves MJ, the first love of his life. He had hidden his feelings for her and was just a good friend. He was much more than a friend at times. From an audience’s point of view, it was evident; he loved her and only her.

Poor old MJ, she did realize in the end where her heart was and did a brave thing opting out of marriage to be with Spiderman, despite knowing the consequences. She had this attitude “Let’s see,” without even thinking how hard it can be, being with someone who doesn’t talk when needed, always on the move, and more importantly, he is quite different from her except for the love which they have for each other and with it the respect.

Except for meeting and sharing few romantic moments, I didn’t see them doing anything beneficial for their future. She keeps thinking and hesitates to tell him or doesn’t get the right time to tell him what she thinks and feels. So she is disappointed, and at the same time, her career doesn’t seem to be going right. Overall she is one frustrated girl who has many expectations even though she doesn’t quite express them.

Peter, well, he is high on confidence and has MJ and no other girl on his mind. Even though he does interact with lots of them at research and college, his head is firm about MJ and no other.

Now, Peter on his own is brilliant with MJ, and they do rock whenever they meet. On such occasions, both are mad about each other, and they share a comfortable bubble around them. They never felt insecure.

The problem starts when Peter has to switch over Spiderman’s role, wherein he cannot be thinking about MJ or his personal life. He is there for others, and in turn, this might not be so easy for MJ at times.

Since she is associated with Peter, she will have to face inevitable consequences for which she isn’t quite ready to take a risk. Peter is one guy who never expresses his problems to others, but he is the first person who will be prepared to solve other’s problems. This mindset becomes very difficult for MJ to cope with because he is much stronger than she is.

He is also more confident and booming at what he is doing; this adds extra pressure on MJ to do well. I shall never blame MJ for that because she isn’t headstrong at all times; she keeps changing her decisions based on her mood swings. She is in mindset “He never understands me.” The point is, she never expressed, still expects him to be there. This is a bit tough on him and their relationship, but she does set such high standards for herself even though she knows she would never succeed in it. That’s her.

Peter plans to be with her for the rest of his life. He fails to understand her and thinks by giving her the freedom to do whatever she wants to do; he is not bossy in the relationship. But she doesn’t want this freedom; she wants him, she wants him to listen, understand and do that. Similarly, MJ cannot understand the responsibilities and standards which Peter sets for him. It’s tough for her.

He probably didn’t give her much time due to many other commitments, but that’s not the excuse. Somewhere, they both got so much freedom that; they started enjoying the silence of their relationship rather than the constant chatting, which used to be the case previously before being in a relationship.

In the past( before the relationship), they used to trust each other lots, used to talk, used to enjoy each other’s company lots, and both used to think of each other when crisis knocked their doors. They still trust, but expectations started to kill the relationship slowly.

While in a relationship, they chose others to solve and hear their problems.

The problem was never with them; they both are the best friends one can ever get in life.

Add little relationship dimension into it; the whole equilibrium gets disturbed. Both have changed in terms of keeping the same old things. Somewhere, the relationship broke the foundation with which they built their friendship castle.

Peter is a self-motivated person, whereas MJ isn’t.

Now, 2 part series is enough to realize that they cannot motivate each other in a relationship. Without the tag of connection, trust me, they will be inseparable as friends and will last forever. It would help if you tried to know whether it is possible or not possible. They just realized it’s not possible for them in a relationship.

Somewhere both of them will feel it’s not the same rapport they share, what they had before getting into this relationship. I guess parting ways for the sake of friendship will be the best thing to do. Somewhere I feel they can be only friends, not couples.

If the relationship doesn’t work, the beauty of their old friendship is that they will not curse each other or blame each other for the failure of their relationship. It was the attitude of MJ “Let’s try,” both of them did try, but it didn’t work out. But they are going to get stronger as friends once they forget the relationship aspect.

From the viewer’s perspective, it would be great if these two great friends be together for the rest of their lives. Good idea, as long as the tag of the relationship isn’t there.

While she plans to depart from the relationship because Peter would never initiate it no matter what, she puts the message, and he tries to change her decision, but she wouldn’t. All he thinks while he watches her going away-

“Yes, we love each other. We love more than any other person in this world, and there is nothing that we would like better than to hold on to each other forever. But she thinks it’s not for the best. Its her choice. So no matter how much my heart is going to break, I’ve got to let her go, so she can know just how much I love her. Maybe if I’m lucky, she’ll come back, but if not, I can make it through this.”

Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.

Of all the romantic moments they shared, things change over a while; this was the moment in their lives. It shows the love they had for each other.

Just when the siren sounds loud and sadly, he is going to miss the words, “Go get them, Tiger.”

And then he shoots his web on a building and goes on with his life.

Now this will be the thing for the fourth part of the series. Add few anti-heroes we will find a brilliant movie grossing millions of dollars again.

The fifth part???? Who cares? It all depends on how Peter and MJ want to be together. Things can change; some are reversible, others aren’t.

End of a beautiful week, predominantly intellectual on personal terms and a good week at work too.

I discovered many things about myself over the past one week through introspection and how to improve things to get the joy of seeing others around me happy if I am not all that happy.

Somewhere I was thinking, by being nice to someone else, is it me being selfish??
Then it confused me for a while, and then inside me, a voice kept telling, “Do you feel wrong about the way you behave in your life or say any regrets,”
I said, “NO.”

“Do you feel bad when you do not get acknowledged for the efforts you have put in,” the inner voice asked me.

I said, “sometimes I do feel bad because I don’t know whether what I did was right or wrong and since there is no reply from the other ends, hence no feedback, so I get confused at times; I then go into the phase of introspection, and I don’t feel that bad at the end of it, if its good, good, if it’s bad, the scope for improvement.”

Later the voice asked me,” Do you feel at peace and joy when you see
others happy.”

“Yes, sometimes I feel the purpose of me being born is to make others happy and seeing their smile and them being happy, I will be satisfied, No doubts about that; making others feel comfortable and happy is my driving force.”

He asked me,” What if you are trying to please people?”

I said, “Oh, I got it! It’s my instinct that drives me to make others’ life happy; as long as this instinct survives and receives proper fodder for survival, it is going to be ok. Being a human, it is a little tough sometimes, but then the overall picture comes to my mind, I think I shouldn’t be bothered about trivial things; my life is going to be great in the path I am traveling now, all I need to do is stay where
I am and move along the same road.”

There will be many potholes and speed breakers, and many different roads. Still, it is entirely up to me to become aware of them so that I don’t lose my way when I arrive at a junction; this is where I will be meeting many beautiful and not so lovely people, there is something I feel I can do by being myself so that I can cheer other’s life for a moment when they desperately need it, but they never asked for it.

The joy I get when I see others being happy, I feel content, and if lucky, they are going to be my companions for the rest of my life; if not, it’s unfortunate that we just met at a traffic signal or, say, at a junction or a pit stop.

There will be many such occasions where we all will bump into each other and get a chance to review if we can become companions again or we might not get a chance.

But sometimes, I am thinking of a junction ahead than about the intersection I am at present, it is not all that good. One needs to enjoy one junction at a time and then progress further; you never know Kal Ho Na Ho.

But it’s worth giving a shot; there’s nothing to lose. By giving away something of one’s is never losing; we lose things which were not at all ours in the first place, but how superficially it appears all the time?”

The voice said,” Enough of your lecture, man when you know what needs to be done, then why are you bugging me with such questions?”

I said,” Just for kicks, that’s all….. To be frank, it’s for a moment I feel I need someone who can comfort me with words and assure me that “everything is gonna be alright,” and make me understand the person I am, sometimes I lose track on such things and start overthinking, that’s when the calming influence is necessary, but this is just a passing phase. After some time, I tend to pick myself and get back to good, but words can make me better. If I don’t get info from the dear ones, I look upon you, so I ask you (inner voice), and you are my best critic too; hence I shall always be grounded by your words.”

The voice got frustrated and said,” Enough, man, you are bugging, I guess you would have annoyed people also by your talks, and that’s why they don’t prefer talking to you.”

I replied the last time, “True in a way, but I have seen people who never speak that much to me but still feel good about me, and for few people, they love listening, and with few others, I don’t talk; I keep listening to them. Hence it’s about being compatible and flexible with the people I meet, its tough, but instead of expecting them to change, I would love to change so that even they can sometimes change for the better. It’s leading by example, you see, rather than accepting my inability and not trying to change.”

The voice being adamant, asked, “How do I say this with surety?”

“Well, that’s what is called my gut instinct, that’s enough for me, if I feel good inside, that will be fine, in a true Metallica way ‘Nothing else matters’ coz what matters is being healthy inside and automatically everything takes care of itself.”

When my mom called me for breakfast, I quickly made a deal with my inner voice.

The voice eventually agreed and promised that he would be honest with his opinions inside me. As long as he is honest in giving his opinions, I promised him I shall remain honest and translate his honesty into my daily life.

I was on my Western India trip to Udaipur and other cities nearby. Ultimately I was so stuck with the scenery I saw in Udaipur, I didn’t feel like seeing any other city in Rajasthan. After a day of visits to the city palace, Lake Palace, there was something I was missing. I didn’t mind traveling alone; it was great. Udaipur is full of lakes,

On our way to Mount Abu, we saw the setting of a famous song in QSQT; I wished my dear friend was around to experience the feeling alongside me.

But none could match the beauty of Gurshikar, the highest point of Mount Abu, which I was about to see in some time.

The walk we took was like a walk in the clouds; literally, it was. I was accompanied by Raj and Nitin, whom I got to know from Raj. Both are from Udaipur, and surprisingly, it was Raj’s first outing to Mount Abu.

We reached Mount Abu at around 10:30 in the morning.

Getting soaked in the clouds was something new to us, and it was hard to disassemble our feelings on experiencing such a thing.

After spending few hours at the peak, we decided to go to another place called Achalgarah. Legend has it; it was the place once Pandavas stayed during their exile.

I was not feeling well since I am scared of heights. But I did ring the bell at the highest point of Mount Abu. Later, because of my condition, I was hesitant to visit the temple. But inside me, I felt, let me go. It might get better.

We were letting off our footwear, just when a boy held me and told me, “Saab, Guide chahiye.” I was not interested, and then he told me- “Saab, sirf das rupaiya.” I got a mixed feeling, “ok, It is just ten bucks,” I wondered.

Still, I was not convinced as to what made me hire him.

After our initial visit to the Shiva temple, we started our climb to the next place, the Jain temple.

The camera wasn’t allowed inside the Jain temple.

The next stop was a kilometer climb till we reached the peak of Achalgarah. It is a propensity in me to know about a person, whoever he or she may be. I make that extra effort in knowing them.

Name Suraj, 12 years of age, studying in 6^th grade at a school about 8 kilometers from his house. He was our guide.

I was asking him about how he goes about his daily life-“I go to school early in the morning, I return by noon, and then I start earning by being a guide. My father earns through selling dolls, and my mom makes them. My brother also studies in the same class even though he is four years older than me”, he smartly replied.

Interesting, I said to myself.

He later shifted his thoughts towards the reality of life. He was telling, “To be good in life, it’s like climbing,” we did realize, since it was getting tough as we went up step by step—déjà vu.

He looked like a normal kid, 3 ft tall, carried an umbrella, and, more importantly, the right words to keep the tourists like us in a jolly mood even when it was a little tough physically to climb. He had a torn pair of Hawai chappals but had a good grip even though he experienced the occasional slip. His shayris were assuaging to our ears.

“Saab, life has its fun; it isn’t easy but certainly not a difficult one,” he murmured

We finally reached after a 25 min climb; we were thirsty.

Flash gave us a bottle of water and said, drink it; it’s pure. It was. Indeed, the most delightful drink I ever gulped in my life, and I did wash my face with it. I was rejuvenated. I had symptoms of throwing up previously; it went away. I am not joking.

He asked me- “Saab, are u from England?” Did I tell him, why son, am I not speaking good Hindi? He replied -“I am confused about how come an English guy speaking such good Hindi.”

I told him, I am a South Indian, and I come from Bangalore. I wasn’t surprised either when he raised his eyebrows when he heard the word “Bangalore.”

So there you are, some people still don’t have an idea about Bangalore.

Later he started talking about people’s nature how it resembled the animal food chain. Some predators feed on innocent, lucky people who escape these predators’ slaughter. Only time decides how lucky they are. But we must not feel bad for the innocent ones because it is a pleasure to lead a life, however short it may be.

Well, we had a puzzled look. Enigma, well, I heard it in history lessons in World War II chapters; this was nothing short of it.

Soon, it started raining, he said “follow me,” and he took us to a small stone cave where space was enough for four of us to cover.

This is the cave, and it was ready so that we could sit in and take shelter.

Later, Suraj took us to another cave, which was very dark, and he told a sanyasi to do his meditation inside it. Well, we didn’t want to go entirely inside.

Now few people know the fact that I have a problem with heights. I am shit scared of heights. When I realized something needed to be done for this boy, the real fear went, and I was looking down, and never before I felt like this. I was walking as though there isn’t any fear. Even on slippery roads, I was confident I would be reaching Bangalore and write an article on him. Thanks to him, I am writing now.

By now, we were convinced as to why we were here.

While returning, he slipped, and for a moment, we thought, oh god, but he is a God’s gift, nothing can stop him from reaching greater heights than the peak of Achalgarah.

He showed us his hut from the top, and we hoped this kid continues to enlighten many people in the future.

Five minutes, we were down.

It took us 25 min to climb and just 5 min to come back.

He explained-“There are short cuts and long roads in life; to learn something well, we must never hesitate to take the longer route. He asked whether we were satisfied by taking the longer route or shorter route?”

We didn’t answer that question, but we did answer it on personal terms and kept it to ourselves.

Little Buddha, I called him and destined that we were to get enlightened.

As his name tells, Suraj, his face resembled the sun’s brightness and his eyes, never seen such powerful eyes.

We didn’t want him to give money because there are poachers, one being his elder brother. We wanted to give him a nice pair of slippers so that he never slips again and continues to do the good work.

We didn’t find a shop when we got down, and already his brother started approaching us and told us to give him the money since Suraj was a kid.

We gave a 50 rupee note and told Suraj to buy himself a pair of nice chappals. We told him that we trust him, and he promised us he wouldn’t misuse the money. As soon as he got the money, his brother came running and tried to snatch it from him. Suraj slapped him, and we just groaned at his brother; he was off running to save himself from further humiliation.

All three of us looked at him for one last time; he gave a smile.

If I wondered why I chose him to be the guide, I would be a fool. Luckily I didn’t ask that question.

Off we went, and that’s it. It was two hours with Suraj, 120 minutes of enlightenment. I have heard Buddha and his guiding ways, well this time around; I saw that we all sensed it.

My trip was worthwhile, and for me, I got a sense of how beautiful my life can become. It was the attitude, and he certainly did show me a broader sense of being alive and being purposeful in what I do.

I hope in India, we nurture such kids. I am not worried about him, as he is strong enough to take care of himself. If I get a chance, I want to go back and meet Suraj; I hope to talk to him, many would have got their questions answered.

When I feel low, I know where I would get my questions answered.

Koi Mil Gaya, Maloom Nahin, Buddha zaroor mila.

Life is beautiful, but what is beautiful???

Is it, delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration?

Or many words like, aesthetic, attractive, better-looking, bonny, exquisite, fair, fine, gorgeous, graceful, handsome, lovely, pretty, picturesque, pleasant, pleasing, ravishing, resplendent, scenic, sightly, splendid, stunning, pulchritudinous … ok I am running short of words…

In any case, for things or people to appear beautiful, all of us use one of these words for our definition of the word beautiful.

In any case, beautiful things are meant to be relative, if not, there would be a certain degree of monotony in everyone’s life.

Its good to be different most of the times and sometimes it can be little boring.

And fair enough, the other way around.

Again it’s the difference in opinions which comes and generally creates contradictory feelings among everyone.

What I see, what I feel, appeals me or it need not appeal me, I call it beautiful or say not so beautiful, it is entirely my choice.

I don’t have to wait for people to compliment my thoughts to appreciate things which are beautiful to me.

Although it’s great to share similar feelings, but sometimes I don’t mind being a stranger in a No Man’s Land.

It doesn’t matter.

What I like, I like….. it

What people like, they like…. it

There will be similarities without which it is little tough to connect with people.

There are people whom I have met who like things because others like it too, there are people who like it simply because others don’t like it and there are people who like things because they like it……

I have seen things in my life which are beautiful and not so beautiful….

Well, it doesn’t matter, because not so beautiful things can appeal to some, at least one person in this world would enjoy that.

It’s a harsh statement but not far from reality.

So far, with my experience of existence on this earth, there would be lot of things that appealed me and continues to appeal me.

So it’s quite natural to express things which appeal to me….

Its lot different when I ask my friends, they have some things in common but there is a degree of propensity for their choices.

So this leaves us in a quite eccentric world…..

I like to aver to things which are “for my eyes only”…. Although it will be interesting to see from other “golden eyes”, but I better stick to myself and enjoy what I see and how I feel about things I see….. I do appreciate, if things look beautiful from other’s point of view.

Now for me Life is beautiful, and for the rest, let them think as to what is beautiful???